


Friendly Neighborhood Birthday Hints

by AppleSoda



Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Drabble, Family Fluff, Gen, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 00:58:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18304934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSoda/pseuds/AppleSoda
Summary: While writing up the details of a bookstore heist, Officer Davis notices Spider-Man being a little more nosy about a present-shopping errand on his to-do list.





	Friendly Neighborhood Birthday Hints

“Not much. Filing this report, figuring out what to get my son for his birthday. I think I’ve just about narrowed it down…”

 

Officer Jefferson Davis had meant to make an off-hand comment to a colleague and finish examining the crime scene. But somehow, he had gotten the attention of the only person not on the force or New York’s largest bookstore that was cleaning up in the aftermath of a botched heist. With the awkwardness of the teenager that likely lived in the super-suit, Spider-Man dropped the pile of logoed totes that he was busily putting back on a shelf with a well-timed web blast.

 

“Oops, sorry, hand must’ve slipped…”

 

“You doing alright, Spider-Man?” Officer Davis peered out at the young crime-fighter, who had zipped into the store as if on cue and started battling the team of rocket launcher-armed mobsters an hour ago.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just…couldn’t help but overhear that you’ve got a present dilemma. Officer. Sir.” The youth quickly added on the end. Though he proved to be just as intuitive, clever and capable, the newest incarnation of the superhero was somehow less irritating than his predecessor, but far more awkward. “I, um…saw that the new iSquare was pretty popular. Good drawing software. Stylus compatable.” He coughed quietly, sketching out a tiny invisible rectangle that resembled the hottest new tablet on the market. 

 

“An iSquare?” Officer Davis laughed dismissively. “I don’t have iSquare money right now. We just got our kitchen sink fixed. Contractors…” Rubbing his head in annoyance, he glanced over at a policewoman who was counting laser blaster holes holes in a wall, one by one, with the tip of a ballpoint pen. From the looks of it, the heist team had been looking for something within the store that wasn’t just the bestsellers or New York souvenirs that were stocked near the front doors.

 

“Fair, fair.” Spider-Man nodded. “Those _are_ pricy. But, um…I heard that all the kids these days are also really, really into these sketchbook packs…”

 

“Sketchbooks.” Officer Davis repeated.

 

“Journaling helps grow the mind,” Spider-Man. “I saw it on a show about organizing the other day.”

 

The officer knew exactly which show. He and his wife had binge-watched the reality program the last time Miles was home from school. “Is gift-giving on your list of superpowers now?” While it was still with some reluctance that he interacted with the young hero, this one had less of an attitude than the late Spider-Man. And the more time his squadron ran into the black-and-red clad teen, the more Officer Davis found himself able to build something of a rapport with him. 

 

“A good hero always stays observant.” A few seconds after the declaration, Spider-Man’s face fell as he continued to re-shelve books via web-slinging. “Too cheesy?” He asked, sounding a bit more self-conscious.

 

“If it’s too cheesy to tell to a dad, you might want to re-think that motto.” Officer Davis closed his notebook, and peered over at a taller shelf that had been blasted to the side. Something that wasn’t a part of the store’s structure had caught his eye. He pointed upwards.

 

“Spider-Man.” Instantly, the masked boy paused and looked over, an alertness in his movements where there hadn’t been before. “Do you see something up there?”

 

In a movement that was probably effortless with someone that did whatever a Spider-Man could, he leapt up and plucked a small object off the shelf. The officer caught it, and found himself looking at a communications advice. It had been deactivated, but it was a clue that the lab techs could probably trace back to whoever planned the heist. If the bookstore that boasted two miles of books had been targeted, it hadn’t been randomly.

 

That was a much-needed breakthrough that his team had been working on for weeks. And, thanks to a little assist, they had saved a tidy bit of time on tracking down connections to a crime syndicate sifting through books and antique shops, searching relentlessly for something.

 

“I think we’re done here for now.” Officer Davis said to Spider-Man. “Any other gift advice you have?”

 

“No.” There was almost certainly a grin on the hero’ face as a thin web shot towards a building above them. “Your son’s lucky to have you, Officer, no matter what.” With that, he vanished upwards into the afternoon sky, off to whatever adventure awaited next. Chuckling to himself, Officer Davis got into his car and started towards a little stationery store not too far from his house.


End file.
